2006-12-20 06:09:40 · 4 answers · asked by musicluva1193 2 in Environment
Cheap energy. Easy and speedy transportation. You didn't ask about disadvantages, so I won't mention any.
2006-12-20 08:11:10 · answer #1 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answers you have gotten so far are right. Petroleum is an energy source that is currently without proper replacement in modern life. It is one of the lightest, most compact, (and even after gas price run-ups) the cheapest source for power we have.
If we include petroleum to include its related products (other hydrocarbons), besides gasoline and similar products, you add natural gas, propane, butane, etc, as well heavy lubricating oils.
Petroleum and its related products are used to make plastics, roadways, tires, lifesaving drugs, textiles (clothes), explosives... the list goes on and on.
Here is a link to the department of energy website in the US that talks a great deal about petroleum.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/infosheets/petroleumproducts.htmI
Petroleum products are hydrocarbons, they consist of a number of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms, and usually form a chain. You can't get these chemicals anywhere else, at least not cheaply and in great quantity, so we have to drill (and mine) for petroleum products.
With regard to petroleum products as a fuel source, consider your other options. I absolutely will be the first to suggest that there are more environmentally friendly sources for generating electricity, but in many cases they have a higher cost, or have other issues. Solar and wind power both contribute to our energy grid, but we are at the mercy of the sun and wind as to how much power is recieved from these sources. To compensate for "real-time" power demand, power plants burn petroleum products (coal, oil, natural gas) to generate the energy we all use every day. But where the energy of oil really comes into importance is in travel...
Remember that petroleum is light and powerful. This means when you fill a car with it, it doesn't get much heavier than the car is empty. This is important because if a fuel is heavy, then you have to expend energy to move not just the car, but the fuel itself. This is actually the main problem with electric cars, fuel cells, the storage containers and the batteries are all heavy. We are working out these issues, but at the moment, the end result is a car that doesn't go as far as a gasoline powered one.
Where this is even more important is where weight is crucial. Jet fuel is a petroleum product, and there are no reasonable substitutes. If you made an solar powered plane, it wouldn't have enough power to get off the ground. A battery powered one, probably would not lift off either, but if it did, it would be so heavy and full of batteries, you couldn't carry much, and the batteries would be expensive!
As you can see, petroleum is indespensible. Our society MUST have it, both as a commercial chemical (for the plastics, roads, etc), and also as a portable and low cost fuel.
You may also find this Wiki page interesting, it compares the energy contained in various fuels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density
2006-12-20 18:15:43 · answer #2 · answered by Bret Z 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The primary advantage is it's very cheap relative other forms of energy. It's is also extremely versatile and can be refined into many different products with many uses.
2006-12-20 14:22:34 · answer #3 · answered by mikearion 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The oil companies, now are stealing it from Iraq, protected by the USA army.
2006-12-20 17:16:52 · answer #4 · answered by jaime r 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋